Tag: #outside

Posted on

If It Was My Last Day on Earth: Now Is the Time for Poetry

Earth from Space, Girl on Swing

What would you do if this was your last day on Earth today?

Perhaps write a poem?

It is our perception of reality that determines so much of what we allow ourselves to accept or not accept, what we allow ourselves to believe or not believe, how much we allow ourselves to love or not to love.

Poems are wonderful transformers of perception.

Here are some poems about nature, Earth, and life that have been written at very different periods in time, and yet, there is something universal, something incredibly current, something worth paying attention to in each and every one of them, especially today.

A Minor Bird by Robert Frost (1874-1963)

I have wished a bird would fly away,

And not sing by my house all day;

Have clapped my hands at him from the door

When it seemed as if I could bear no more..

The fault must partly have been in me.

The bird was not to blame for his key.

And of course there must be something wrong

In wanting to silence any song.

From 7 Poems To Read In Honor Of Earth Day, Bustle, By E. Ce Miller, April 14, 2016

If It Was My Last Day on Earth: Now Is the Time “I have wished a bird would fly away… and not sing all day…” | Music: A Minor Bird by Victoria Darian

Ryokan (1758-1831)

When all thoughts
Are exhausted
I slip into the woods
And gather
A pile of shepherd’s purse.

From Dewdrops on a Lotus Leaf:  Zen Poems of Ryokan, translated by John Stevens. Published by Shambala in Boston, 1996.

Basho (1644-1694)

Nothing in the cry
of cicadas suggests they
are about to die.

The bee emerging
from deep within the peony
departs reluctantly.

Summer grasses:
all that remains of great soldiers’
imperial dreams.

From The Essential Basho, Translated by Sam Hamill.  Published by Shambala in Boston, 1999.

If It Was My Last Day on Earth: Now Is the Time
“Nothing in the cry
of cicadas suggests they
are about to die…”
Music: When Dragons Cry by Bo Johnson

Ikkyu (1394-1481)

My Hovel

The world before my eyes is wan and wasted, just like me.
The earth is decrepit, the sky stormy, all the grass withered.
No spring breeze even at this late date,
Just winter clouds swallowing up my tiny reed hut.

From Wild Ways: Zen Poems of Ikkyu, translated by John Stevens. Published by Shambala in Boston, 1995.

If It Was My Last Day on Earth: Now Is the Time The world before my eyes is wan and wasted, just like me… | Music: Time Travelers Coyote Oldman [4] The Fourth Dream ย ย ย 5:26

These Zen poems come from A Sampler of Zen Poetry. The author of this sampler says, “These are a few of my favorite poems by three of Japan’s greatest Zen monk-poets, Ikkyu (1394-1481), Basho (1644-1694), and Ryokan (1758-1831).”

They are indeed very beautiful and holy.

Today is Earth Day!

Go ahead, write a poem! Transcend space and time and perceptions of reality using nothing but your mind.

We never know when our last day on Earth will be.

Seize the moment, see more, feel your rightness in this moment, know you belong and you matter, right here, right now. You are it!

Feature Archetypal Animation

Fantasy Girl Rock Space Earth Moon Composing | Willgard | Willgard Krause  โ€ข  Age 58  โ€ข  Lutherstadt Wittenberg/Deutschland  โ€ข  Member since Feb. 25, 2017  โ€ข  #316

Space Galaxy Universe Sky Night Cosmos Star | gene1970 | English  โ€ข  Member since Dec. 10, 2017  โ€ข  #385

Eagle Girl Moon Mountains Fantasy Dream | gene1970 | English  โ€ข  Member since Dec. 10, 2017  โ€ข  #385

Astronaut Space Planets Astronomy Galaxy | gene1970 | English  โ€ข  Member since Dec. 10, 2017  โ€ข  #385

Earth Blue Planet Globe Gaia Planet People | spirit111 | beate bachmann  โ€ข  Age 59  โ€ข  berlin/germany  โ€ข  Member since April 6, 2017

Earth Universe Flammarion Science Spiritual | ChristianBodhi | Christian Bodhi  โ€ข  Santa Cruz De Tenerife, London/Spain and United Kingdom  โ€ข  Member since Aug. 19, 2018

Music: My Last Days on Earth | BL4CK7ACK

First Archetypal Animation

Kerala India Manipulated Bird Nature | ambadysasi | Ambady Sasi  โ€ข  Age 28  โ€ข  Thodupuzha/India  โ€ข  Member since Nov. 15, 2017

Bird Singer Singing Chirp Tweet Chirrup Robin | Pfรผderi | Age 30  โ€ข  Schweiz  โ€ข  Member since March 24, 2014  โ€ข  #810

Bird Songbird To Sing Spring Nature Park | jggrz | Jรผrgen  โ€ข  Age 66  โ€ข  Thรผringen/Deutschland  โ€ข  Member since Feb. 10, 2018  โ€ข  #57

Bird Starling Crested Song Feathers Plumage | YK333 | Yadvendra Kumar  โ€ข  Age 62  โ€ข  Delhi/India  โ€ข  Member since July 11, 2021

King Medieval Celebration Man Handsome | Wadams | William Adams  โ€ข  Age 69  โ€ข  Manhattan/US  โ€ข  Member since April 20, 2015

Belgium Statue Knokke Beach Man On The Beach | pixel2013 | S. Hermann & F. Richter  โ€ข  Germany  โ€ข  Member since April 9, 2016

Music:

Music: A Minor Bird by Victoria Darian [1] A Minor Bird ย ย ย 5:08

Second Archetypal Animation

Canthigaster Cicada Fulgoromorpha Insect Trunk Long | Josch13 | Deutsch  โ€ข  Member since Aug. 17, 2013

Dragon Golden Dragon Statue Sculpture Art Artwork | Josch13 | Deutsch  โ€ข  Member since Aug. 17, 2013

Wild Bee Blossom Bloom Peony Close Up Yellow | jggrz | Jรผrgen  โ€ข  Age 66  โ€ข  Thรผringen/Deutschland  โ€ข  Member since Feb. 10, 2018  โ€ข  #59

Mountain Field Sky Agriculture Nature Countryside | SwidaAlba | Leng Kangrui  โ€ข  Age 23  โ€ข  Beijing/China  โ€ข  Member since Feb. 13, 2018

Poppy Flower Nature Wild Flower Wild Flowers Field | Candiix | CANDICE CANDICE  โ€ข  Franรงais  โ€ข  Member since Nov. 19, 2017

Warrior Fallen Combat Dead Injured Viking | Garyuk31 | Gary Chambers  โ€ข  Age 52  โ€ข  English  โ€ข  Member since Oct. 25, 2015

Carving Stone Rock Stone Carving Dragon China | PublicDomainPictures | English  โ€ข  Member since Dec. 11, 2010

Music: When Dragons Cry by Bo Johnson [1] When Dragons Cry ย ย ย 4:32

Third Archetypal Animation

Apocalypse Clouds End Time Atmospheric Mystical | Mysticsartdesign | Mystic Art Design  โ€ข  Deutsch  โ€ข  Member since July 3, 2014

Skin Eye Iris Blue Older Folds Wrinkled Skin Man | analogicus | Tom  โ€ข  Andernach/Deutschland  โ€ข  Member since Feb. 25, 2018  โ€ข  #144

Wood Statue Sculpture Statue Wooden | terimakasih0 | Dean Moriarty  โ€ข  Age 67  โ€ข  cardiff/United Kingdom  โ€ข  Member since Dec. 3, 2014

Thunderstorm Weather Storm Thunder Lighting Bolts | Inactive account โ€“ ID 12019

Nature Straw Hay Grass Field Wet How Come Swamp | EM80 | Deutsch  โ€ข  Member since March 13, 2015

Lakeside Reed Hut Timber Construction Piles | webentwicklerin | Gabriele Lรคsser  โ€ข  ร–sterreich  โ€ข  Member since June 18, 2012

Mushrooms Moss Fungi Lichen Forest Nature | adege | Andreas  โ€ข  Age 65  โ€ข  Gelterkinden/Schweiz  โ€ข  Member since April 3, 2017  โ€ข  #128

Music: Time Travelers Coyote Oldman [1] Time Travelers ย ย ย 8:04[2] Dark Beauty ย ย ย 5:07[3] Peaceful Blue ย ย ย 4:09 [4] The Fourth Dream ย ย ย 5:26

Posted on

A Stormy Moment: Poetry of Grief, Heart & Now

The wind’s in the willows

My heart is in two.

A Stormy Moment: The wind’s in the willows…my heart is in two… | Music: 50 Shades of Purple | Songs For the Brokenhearted by Maria Paloma

I sit being billowed

Thinking of you.

A Stormy Moment: Thinking of You… | Music: Molly (feat. Brendon Urie of Panic at the Disco) | Lil Dicky

The wind’s in the willows

It’s starting to rain.

A Stormy Moment: It’s starting to rain… | Music: Thunderstorm & Rain (Sleep & Mindfulness) | Sleepy John

I sit getting drenched

Both with droplets and pain.

A Stormy Moment: I’m getting drenched… | Music: Pain PinkPantheress | [1] Pain ย ย ย 1:39

Poet unknown, but I found a copy of this very same poem in Chapter 55 of a Timeless Place.

For a dear friend who shared this poem recently. I love its imagery and was inspired to animate parts of it with Archetypal Animations.

Have a beautiful and soulful day.

A Stormy Moment:

Following are sources for the images and music used to create each Archetypal Animation. All images for this blog come from Pixabay and all music is from Spotify. To hear the music, just click the little sound box in the upper right-hand corner of each animation.

You can follow my Pixabay account to see collections of spectacular photos I have encountered in my searches for images for Archetypal Animations. And follow my Spotify account for meditative and powerful playlists of musicians I have discovered in my search for musical soundtracks for Archetypal Animations.

Feature Archetypal Animation:

UnderWaterย Fashionย Womanย Artย Waterย Tankย Fine Art | Engin_Akyurt | Engin Akyurt ย โ€ขย  Age 41 ย โ€ขย  Tรผrkรงe ย โ€ขย  Member since Nov. 1, 2016 ย โ€ขย ย #25
Willowย Treeย Winterย Lightย Colorย Sky | elvina1332 | ะญะปัŒะฒะธะฝะฐ ะฏะบัƒะฑะพะฒะฐ ย โ€ขย  Age 29 ย โ€ขย  ะšะฐัะฟะธะนัะบ/ะ ะพััะธั ย โ€ขย  Member since Jan. 22, 2018 ย โ€ขย ย #869
Matchย Smokeย Match Headย Sticksย Matchesย Burn | roegger | Deutsch ย โ€ขย  Member since Nov. 25, 2014
Girlย Nighttimeย Lanternย Oil Lamp | Greyerbaby | lisa runnels ย โ€ขย  Age 59 ย โ€ขย  magee/united states ย โ€ขย  Member since Jan. 13, 2012
Loveย Heartย Valentine’s Dayย Redย Affectionย Hearts | marcosaasilva | Marcos Silva ย โ€ขย  Age 58 ย โ€ขย  Macaรฉ/Brasil ย โ€ขย  Member since Nov. 19, 2016

Music: Day 28: Mantra for Moving Forward (So Dar Keha) | Meditative Mind

First Archetypal Animation:

Weeping Willow Willow Tree | MabelAmber ๐Ÿ‘€ who will one day ย โ€ขย  make you hide…/your face in your hands ๐Ÿ‘€ ย โ€ขย  Member since Sept. 6, 2015
Heart Broken Nature Love Leaf | Modman | Kevin McIver ย โ€ขย  Age 59 ย โ€ขย  English ย โ€ขย  Member since April 22, 2015
Hourglass Shattered Broken | Heather_Ann | Heather Plew ย โ€ขย  Age 32 ย โ€ขย  Grapeview/USA ย โ€ขย  Member since Jan. 25, 2018
Heart Crack Broken Pain | chadkrue17 | Chad Krusenstjerna ย โ€ขย  Age 25 ย โ€ขย  Lynnwood/United States ย โ€ขย  Member since Aug. 24, 2015

Music: 50 Shades of Purple | Songs For the Brokenhearted by Maria Paloma

Second Archetypal Animation:

Abstract Background Grey Billow | yadiyadi | English ย โ€ขย  Member since Jan. 28, 2013
Background Abstract Etherial Billows | yadiyadi | English ย โ€ขย  Member since Jan. 28, 2013
Paraglider Leisure Sports Free Flight | JACLOU-DL | JackieLou DL ย โ€ขย  La Baie du Mont saint Michel/France ย โ€ขย  Member since June 10, 2017 ย โ€ขย ย #72
Woman Face Light Painting | Inactive account โ€“ ID 19833603

Music: Molly (feat. Brendon Urie of Panic at the Disco) | Lil Dicky

Third Archetypal Animation:

Weeping Willow Willow Tree | MabelAmber ๐Ÿ‘€ who will one day ย โ€ขย  make you hide…/your face in your hands ๐Ÿ‘€ ย โ€ขย  Member since Sept. 6, 2015
Window Glass Water | Pexels | English ย โ€ขย  Member since March 26, 2016
Rain Umbrella Pavement Red Black | nikondian | Souvick Ghosh ย โ€ขย  Age 32 ย โ€ขย  Kolkata/India ย โ€ขย  Member since July 22, 2017
Cloud Heart Love Wind | Kranich17 | Michaela ย โ€ขย  Germany ย โ€ขย  Member since Jan. 6, 2019 ย โ€ขย ย #332

Music: [1] Thunder & Rain Sounds, Pt. 01    1:05 | Thunderstorm & Rain (Sleep & Mindfulness) | Sleepy John

Fourth Archetypal Animation:

Hand Hyperhidrosis Sweating | BarbaraBonanno | Barbara Bonanno ย โ€ขย  Massa (MS)/Italia ย โ€ขย  Member since Feb. 20, 2015
Scream That Weather Breath | Engin_Akyurt | Age 41 ย โ€ขย  Tรผrkรงe ย โ€ขย  Member since Nov. 1, 2016 ย โ€ขย ย #25
Under Water Fashion Woman | Engin_Akyurt | Age 41 ย โ€ขย  Tรผrkรงe ย โ€ขย  Member since Nov. 1, 2016 ย โ€ขย ย #25
Under Water Fashion Woman Art | er Water Fashion Woman | Engin_Akyurt | Age 41 ย โ€ขย  Tรผrkรงe ย โ€ขย  Member since Nov. 1, 2016 ย โ€ขย ย #25
Under Water Fashion Woman Art | er Water Fashion Woman | Engin_Akyurt | Age 41 ย โ€ขย  Tรผrkรงe ย โ€ขย  Member since Nov. 1, 2016 ย โ€ขย ย #25

Music: Pain PinkPantheress | [1] Pain    1:39

My small insight in animating parts of this poem is:

Keep moving forward no matter the weather inside or outside.

Every emotion, feeling, and mood is rocket fuel powering us ever forward through new beginnings and endings on our endless and indestructible journey through the feeling of being.

It is only through the dark that we know the light.

It is only by descending to our deepest depths that we can reach our highest heights.

One more insight, actually it is a synchronicity between working on this poem and a movie that my husband and I watched last night. We saw a BBC version of Great Expectations. Neither of us had ever read Charles Dickens book nor seen any of the movies made about it.

Both of us were spelled bound by the convoluted beautiful tale Dickens weaves through all his stories. We were particularly captivated and appalled by Miss Havisham. 

"Humiliated and heartbroken, Miss Havisham suffered a mental breakdown and remained alone in her decaying mansion Satis House โ€“ never removing her wedding dress,..." -- Wiki

Here is a sense of the depth of despair she has descended to and refuses (or cannot) let go of in this complicated story.

great expectations | miss Havisham
57,082 views, Jan 2, 2012

Her endless pain bends and distorts her until she appears more dead than alive, more witch than beautiful maiden, which she was. Still she clings to her unendurable pain, the consequences of which ripple through and define the rest of her life and beyond.

I listen to a lot of Alan Watts, and he talks a lot about letting go because there is no way to hold on to it. It can be pleasure, pain, money, status, whatever it is a person is tempted to hold on to. He also talks about peaks and troughs. You can’t have one without the other.

I immediately sought to find an example of what would happen to a human being who only held onto pleasure. A person who refuses to see, feel, or know their own pain. I could not think of a literary example, but my mother-in-law sprang to mind.

I realized a person who holds on to pleasure also is beaten and battered into more of a monster than a human being by this force–for pleasure is an energy just as pain is energy. We feel these energies as emotions inside of us.

A person who clings to pleasure becomes dim, shallow, and cruel. They become a person who takes pleasure in other people pain, misfortune, and sorrow. They have forgotten their soul needs food to grow and that consuming someone else’s pain is a pretty poor substitute for their own.

To grow, a soul needs to sink into the depths of being a mortal being. Denying their own pain and suffering, cuts them off from other people and slices themselves in half. A person who clings to pleasure becomes the same type of pitiful monster that Miss Havisham becomes due to clinging to her pain.

You can follow my journey in exploring what happens to a person who clings to pleasure through my Big Sky Series.

Traveling to Big Sky Country — September 22, 2021 — Moab — Junction
26 views
Premiered Oct 15, 2021

Have a beautiful day!